Surprising in its quality of food and service, Elena's has been a favorite in Cloverdale for years, despite, basically, no marketing.
The best dishes served are, without question, their breakfast combo (free range eggs and pork, NOT frozen hash browns, and cheap), their home made perogies (which are actually to die for), and their cabbage rolls (Eastern European style, with sauerkraut and all). Everything is very cheap: You'll probably get away with spending ten or twelve bucks, including tip. Part of the reason for such low prices are due, no doubt, to the reduced overhead associated with accepting cash only.
The decor is simple, basically family oriented. Coloring books for the kids, some tables outside for those summer days. Also, due to the nature of this local, family run, business, there are many "regulars" who, startlingly at first, will pour their own coffee, joke with the owners, and generally make themselves feel at home.
All in all, service with a smile, a joke, and a thick accent make this place very hospitable; authentic, locally sourced, and, for the most part, ethically bred produce impart an amazing flavor to the cuisine; and the cozy feel of a family friendly, casual, and sparse ambiance is...
Read moreFood was good, the elderly lady seemed pleasant. The Elderly man needs to microcode or somthing. Very rude. We sat down and within 3 min he walked up and asked us for our order and we politely told him we needed a couple more minutes to decide. He looked at us like we just killed his dog. After we gave the order he went and sat a couple tables away watching loud videos and blowing his nose and horking spit into a napkin, it was disgusting to listen to while eating eggs.... This guy should retire asap cause besides for him it's a nice little restaurant with pretty good food. They would probably get more business if they didn't have this Scrooge running the front of house. While we were sitting there an older man walked in and before sitting down went to use the washroom and the owner snapped at him and said that's for customers only go somewhere else, and the guy was very confused and just said he was going to be a customer but then walked out. So this guys literally pushing...
Read moreAmazing place to go to, highly recommend!
One note THE PORTIONS OF FOOD ARE HUGE! I suggest splitting with your date/friend, because at least for me it was impossible to finish 😆 don’t get me wrong, that was a huge plus for me, got to finish the leftover at home.
The food is excellent. There biscoff latte is to die for. I also tried their French toast and their vegetarian sandwhich and it was so so good.
The atmosphere is SO VIBEY, such an aesthetic place. They recently renovated it and it’s adorable. Ideal date place. Staff was super friendly and nice!
Only downside is that the wait was extremely long. I didnt keep track but maybe 20-30 minutes for coffee, french toast and sandwhich. I didnt find it a big deal because I had nothing to do afterwards so I could wait. But if you are running in a tight schedule it’s worth asking then how long it will take so you don’t run late for whatever you have next. I did go the day after valentines though so maybe it was more...
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